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I write this entry on the National Day of Observance.
Here's a statement by Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
It is hard to believe that this photo below was taken ONE YEAR AGO.
I pause and reflect on this significant day...
This photo was taken just before workshop attendees arrived to the room.
I was invited as a special guest speaker for International Women's Week at the Canadian headquarters of a large international company in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
I had a great time with this corporate group, but it was clear, the new state of the world was really beginning to unfold around us, and amongst us.
We were all figuring out how to act, and people were running in and out of emergency meetings trying to keep up to date on new information coming in.
In the meantime, much of our informal talk was figuring out how to greet each other. Do we fist bump? Do we stand awkwardly a certain distance from each other? Handshake? No handshake? Do we continue on with the activities that were planned months in advance?
These were still the days when we were fully 'mask free'-we weren't even talking about masks at this point. A few days later, our new reality was set--and it seemed like all parts of society stopped and stood still. Like this photo--frozen in time.
This was the last corporate group presentation I spoke at...and March 2020 was the last time the YNL office in London, Ontario, Canada was open to the public.
THAT WAS THEN....
AND THIS IS NOW....
Enter the world of Zoom.
This is Your New Leaf a year later hosting our signature (previously in-person) events,
WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY (Feb 24, 2021)
and STOP N' SIP SATURDAY (Mar 6, 2021).
ON THIS NATIONAL DAY OF OBSERVANCE, WE REMEMBER THE LIVES LOST, WE SALUTE OUR ESSENTIAL FRONTLINE WORKERS, AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE DO HAVE.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR YNL PARTICIPANTS AND SUPPORTERS, WE TRULY APPRECIATE YOU ...AND KNOW THAT WE WILL BE SEEING YOU SOMETIME SOON AGAIN...IN-PERSON.
Until then, how will we 'turn over a new leaf' as we continue on in 2021?
What will 'your new leaf' be? What will OUR new leaf be?
With gratitude,
Daisy-Mae Hamelinck
MA, B.Ed, B.A (Hons), SSWD
Founder, Your New Leaf